Business card tagline?

[Ron's Brother]

Your business card should clearly tell people what you do and offer a meaningful benefit.

[Scodiddly]

A vCard or whatever is a neat idea, and a good way to store contact info for a lot of people. But if you're getting home from an event, you're probably pulling cards out of your pockets and leaving them on your dresser or whatever. You're not going to bother to dig through your phone looking for new cards.

I don't know if a witty phrase is worth anything, but a card that's a few steps above "name, rank, serial #" is generally good. You want people to look at your card and maybe say "hey, this guy looks interesting".

At the least you should have a card which could just be a hook to your website (you *do* have a website, yes?). The website can have photos, recordings, even better and longer funny words.

[Tims96]

Thank you everyone for your continued responses.

I've decided to scrap the tagline idea altogether, and am going with a simple, straightforward card with my contact information and services offered. I plan on making it a bit more creatively designed than just text on a white background, but I'm definitely sticking to the basics: Name, phone, email, website.

I completely agree that my business card is way down towards the bottom of the list of things that will get me hired. It may be just a small piece of my overall business strategy, but every piece counts. I've also created a professional V-Card to send to people who request it, so I have both bases (physical and digital) covered.

For those of you that do use business cards, I'd be interested in seeing what some of them look like. Just a bit curious to see how other people are marketing themselves.

Thanks again for the responses.

[norsehorse]

I have to disagree with poster(s) who say you don't need a business card. I get asked for cards frequently enough at shows to warrant making sure I have four to five with me at all times.

Is having a card going to guarantee you a gig? Of course not. But we all know every little bit counts. Giving someone a dumb look ("uh, gosh, no, I don't have any cards") when they ask you for one certainly won't help.

For your tag line --- unless you have a very specific niche you are going to work with and know what type of line would be attractive to them, I'd stay flexible. One poster mentioned printing a recipe. That's a great idea. Just do something memorable or interesting. Doesn't have to be audio related.

[fossiltooth]

Totally agree with the consensus on taglines: If there's any question in your mind about whether or not you like it, throw it out. It's not for you. As far as the usefulness of business cards in general? I never used them when I was just working on music. It was all based on informal relationships. I'd trade info with a potential client the same way you'd exchange numbers with a new friend or a cute girl. Cards just felt a silly to me in that context.

Outside of indie music, some of your potential clients will like the appearances that come along with business cards. Now that I work with corporate clients, I can see how they're useful. They also help re-enforce the slight personal distance that's necessary for business-as-usual in the normal professional world.

[vvv]

FWIW, I use business cards daily in my real-world (non-music) job.

The things that get attention, and I have been told create a good and memorable impression, are raised print (often done now with heat, which is cheaper than engraving) and the card stock.

I am partial to rice-paper or similar ... (semi-transparent-looking)

When I receive cards, what I remember, is type size. If the person's name or company is large enough, it seems to stick with me better than tiny type all over the place, or confusing logos or tags, or even colors.

Name, service claim and contact info. is all you really need - business-like is a good impression, IMO.

[aitikin]

I would advise you to scrap the idea of making business cards. I think they still serve a purpose for some businesses, but for audio engineering, I personally feel they're outdated.

Really? Cause I honestly feel that the only way to remember someone is to write it down. Business cards have been the only way people have remembered to contact me many a time. In fact, I kicked myself for not having them 6 months ago when I was making small talk with the cashier and he asked me about recording.

Also, if you're ever at conventions/conferences/what have you, it's a good way to make sure you're known. There are literally thousands of people there and if you've got a card, even if it's a vista-print one, it's a lot easier to remember you. "The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory."

What you want to do is be able to send your contact information to someone as fast as possible, like being able to message your contact information to anyone who is interested (I do this all the time).

This is a valid point, and part of the reason why some nerds I know use these. If you go that route, you could even have MP3s of your demo reel (yes I realize MP3s are not ideal, but they're an example) as well as a vcard and website. You can even enable autorun on it and have it open their web browser to your site. Just be sure to warn people not to use them in slot loading drives.

[L-ROX]

The CD replicator I refer my clients to does those tiny CD business cards too, I don't think my "target client base" would appreciate those, however. This shows that (again) it depends on your target audience.

If it means anything, I'm about to get a couple thousand stickers made. They'll only have the logo and my website address, with phone, email etc. in the back (paper). I think my particular target audience would slap them on their monitors, gear, etc. But hey, that's just me and if you like business cards still, that's fantabulous.

[TapeOpLarry]

This anti-biz card thing strikes me as odd. I carry three different cards with me, Tape Op editor, Jackpot owner, and a personal card. I get asked for cards all the time, have for 15 years, and am sure that in many cases the person asking for the card did need the info and/or will use the card as a reminder/prompter to drop me a line about something. A vcard will end up lost among 3000 contacts on my iphone, and just telling someone my email (the same now for 14 years!) doesn't get remembered it seems. When I hit a trade show, like NAMM tomorrow, I get cards form folks and write notes on the back about followups and then sort through these later and drop emails and add to my to do lists. When I ask a professional in this field for a card and they have nothing I'm surprised and assume that they'd either rather that Tape Op not write about them or review their product or that they are hoping to not accidentally run into cool musicians that want them to record their next album. It makes me think this person is not serious enough to even want to be working in the field. Making contacts, some of which may not directly pay off for decades, is part of the game and if I meet you, and curious about you, and you have no card and don't make an attempt to follow up with me then I assume you have no need of making contacts. Case closed.

[Tims96]

I really like the idea of stickers to give out to both potential clients and satisfied customers. That's something to look into after I get these cards.

Update on that front: I decided having a business card without a website on it could be problematic if people wanted to check out my previous work or get in touch with me that way. That raises the issue of not having having a website. While I was going to make one eventually this is actually forcing me to build one sooner rather than later.

Those CD cards are nifty, but I'd be worried about them messing up people's computers by using the wrong kind of drive. Also, isn't it actually faster to just type in a web address from a business card than to pop a CD into a drive and wait for it to load up?

Thanks again for all the input.

[cgarges]

I'm with Larry.

CG

[aitikin]

Those CD cards are nifty, but I'd be worried about them messing up people's computers by using the wrong kind of drive. Also, isn't it actually faster to just type in a web address from a business card than to pop a CD into a drive and wait for it to load up?

My point was, for the nerds out there, the niftiness is worth it.

[L-ROX]

For the record, I'm not anti biz-anything. I'm a firm believer in using whatever works to propel yourself and your business.

I was talking from the stance of an up-and-coming audio engineer, I'm not talking about a guy that owns and operates a magazine and goes to trade shows.

If you're an up-and-coming audio engineer and you give someone a business card, in my opinion, that may not be as good as you saying "what's your cell #, let me txt u my info real quick, hey so when are you guys planning on recording, blah blah blah." This said, that's only my opinion and if you think biz cards will work for you, then by all means brother, do your thing!

Last night I went to a show to meet some clients who were in town performing, sans business cards. I beamed my info to a couple of peoples' phones. One guy gave me a biz card, he had left his phone in the VIP room and I made a point of talking to him a little bit more and came home to send him an email. Even though I don't do business cards, I network with people that do still, nothing wrong with it!!

[L-ROX]

I really like the idea of stickers to give out to both potential clients and satisfied customers. That's something to look into after I get these cards.

The place I get my stickers made also does free b&w printing on the back of the stickers, so this could be something like your phone number and other details that you might not have as part of the sticker's design. If you're interested in the source, PM me and I'd be happy to send you their info (not sure if it would be seen as advertising them which is why I'm not putting their info in this reply).

Best of luck to you man, do what it takes, and another piece of advice I can share is: take everything you hear with a grain of salt and always follow your gut feeling!

[L-ROX]

Hey, how the heck did I get "ass engineer" under my name!?

I prefer "technician". I know a few real engineers (with proper degrees) and I personally don't feel myself qualified for that title.